- Description
-
- Creator(s)
- Thomas Girtin (1775-1802)
- Title
-
- A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- Date
- 1800
- Medium and Support
- Graphite and watercolour on laid paper
- Dimensions
- 31.5 × 46.9 cm, 12 ⅜ × 18 ½ in
- Inscription
‘Girtin 1800’ lower left, by Thomas Girtin
- Object Type
- Studio Watercolour
- Subject Terms
- Durham and Northumberland; Picturesque Vernacular
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- TG1704
- Girtin & Loshak Number
- 191iii as 'Cottages near Newcastle'
- Description Source(s)
- Auction Catalogue; Paul Mellon Centre Photographic Archive
Provenance
Possibly bought by Peter Bluett (1767–1843) of Holcombe Court, Devon; then by descent to Peter Frederick Bluett (1806–84); Holcombe Court bought by the Revd William Rayer (1786–1866), 1858; his collection by descent to Revd. George Morganig William Thomas Jenkins (1879–1952); acquired by Gooden & Fox Ltd., 1936; Fine Art Society, London; Gavin Astor, 2nd Baron Astor of Hever (1918-84); his posthumous sale, Christie’s, 10 July 1984, lot 204, £1,728 as 'Cottages near Newcastle'
Exhibition History
Fine Art Society, 1937, no.25
Other entries in Late Watercolours:
Samuel William Reynolds and Painting for the Art Market
An Imaginary City, with Antique Buildings
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
Ancient Ruins, with an Obelisk
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Ancient Ruins, with a Gothic Church
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
A Classical Composition, with a Church and Column
Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool
The Arch of Janus, Rome
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Temple of Clitumnus
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Rome: The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Rome: The Temple of Saturn, with the Arch of Septimius Severus
Private Collection
A Town on an Estuary
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence
A Lagoon Capriccio
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
An Unidentified Coastal Landscape with a Windmill
Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight
Barnard Castle, from the River Tees
Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle
A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
An Exterior View of the Ruins of Lindisfarne Priory Church
Lindisfarne Priory, Northumberland (English Heritage)
Kelso Abbey: The West Front
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Jedburgh Abbey, from the Riverbank
The Higgins, Bedford
On the River Medway, with a Boatyard, Beached Vessels and Hulks
Private Collection
Bisham Abbey, on the River Thames
Private Collection
A Classical Composition, with Figures Admiring the Sculptures
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
An Unidentified Ruin next to a Bridge over a Stream, Said to Be Furness Abbey
Touchstones Rochdale
The Gatehouse of Morpeth Castle
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Buildings on the River Nidd, near Knaresborough
British Museum, London
Kirkstall Abbey, from Kirkstall Hill
British Museum, London
Kirkstall Abbey, from Kirkstall Bridge, Morning
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Kirkstall Abbey, from the Canal, Evening
Private Collection
A Distant View of Kirkstall Abbey
Williamson Art Gallery & Museum, Birkenhead
An Unidentified Scene, Formerly Known as ‘Kirkstall Village’
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Wetherby Bridge and Mills, Looking across the Weir
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Wetherby: Looking through the Bridge to the Mills
British Museum, London
Wetherby: Looking through the Bridge to the Mills
Leeds Art Gallery
Kirk Deighton, near Wetherby
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
York: The New Walk on the Banks of the River Ouse
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
York: The Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
York: The Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern
Private Collection
York Minster from the South East, Layerthorpe Bridge and Postern to the Right
Private Collection
A Farmyard with Barns, Ladder and Figures; A Sky Study
Courtauld Gallery, London
Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Leeds Art Gallery
Ripon Minster, with Skellgate Bridge
Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery
A Distant View of Ripon Minster, from the River Skell
Private Collection
Ripon Minster, from the South East
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Ripon Minster, from the South West
Private Collection
The Abbey Mill, near Knaresborough
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
A Mountain Stream in Spate, Possibly the River Wharfe
Private Collection
Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church from across the River Wharfe
Eton College, Windsor
Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church, from across the River Wharfe
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff
Bolton Abbey: The East End of the Priory Church, from across the River Wharfe
Leeds Art Gallery
Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Private Collection
Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Private Collection
The Banks of the River Wharfe, with Bolton Abbey in the Distance
Private Collection
Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe, near Bolton Abbey
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Stepping Stones on the River Wharfe, near Bolton Abbey
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Storiths Heights, near Bolton Abbey, from the River Wharfe
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
Richmond Castle, from the River Swale
Leeds Art Gallery
A Farmhouse in Malhamdale, Known as 'Kirkby Priory, near Malham'
British Museum, London
An Ancient Oak, Said to Be on the River Ure
Private Collection
Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Private Collection, Norfolk
Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Private Collection
Cottages at Hawes, from Gayle Beck
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Guisborough Priory: The Ruined East End
Tate, London
A Distant View of Guisborough Priory; The Tithe Barn, Abbotsbury
Private Collection, Norfolk
A Distant View of Guisborough Priory
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
A Distant View of Guisborough Priory
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Private Collection
A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Kelso Abbey, from the River Tweed
Private Collection
Warkworth Castle, from the River Coquet
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
An Upland Landscape, Said to Show Etal Castle
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The River Tweed at Kelso, Looking Upstream
Courtauld Gallery, London
The Eildon Hills, from the River Tweed
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
A Distant View of Dryburgh Abbey, with the Eildon Hills Beyond
Private Collection
The Valley of the Tweed, with Melrose Abbey in the Distance
Private Collection
Jedburgh Abbey, from Jed Water
Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge
Jedburgh Abbey, from the South East
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
The Village of Jedburgh
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Southampton: The South Gate and Old Gaol
Private Collection
Bristol Harbour, with St Mary Redcliffe in the Distance
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
A Wharf with Shipping, Possibly at Bristol
Art Institute of Chicago
A Rainbow over the River Exe
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
A Rainbow over the River Exe
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, San Marino
A Rainbow over the River Exe
Graves Gallery, Sheffield
Lydford Castle, from the River Lyd
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
St Vincent’s Rocks and the Avon Gorge
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
On the River Taw, North Devon, Looking from Braunton Marsh towards Instow and Appledore
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Conwy Castle, from the River Gyffin
Private Collection, Norfolk
Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea (The White House, Chelsea)
Tate, London
Chelsea Reach, Looking towards Battersea
Private Collection, Norfolk
A Panoramic Landscape, with Figures Trawling a Pond
Private Collection
Landscape with a Distant Ridge, Possibly Hampstead Heath
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
An Inn Yard, Edgware Road, Paddington
British Museum, London
The Thames from a Window of the Old Toy Inn, Hampton Court
British Museum, London
The Old Cottage, Widmore, near Bromley
British Museum, London
Shipping on the River Medway
Museum of New Zealand, Wellington
A Farmyard with Cattle, Poultry and Labourers Unloading Hay, Possibly Pinkney's Farm, Wimbish
Art Institute of Chicago
Farmhouse and Outbuildings, Possibly in Essex
Aberdeen Art Gallery
An Unidentified Village Street with a Church Tower in the Distance
British Museum, London
A Panoramic Landscape, Possibly Showing Primrose Hill, London
Private Collection
Unidentified Landscape with a Distant Rain Shower
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff
Warkworth Church, with the Bridge Beyond
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
An Italianate Landscape with Two Monks
Private Collection
Revisions & Feedback
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About this Work
This watercolour, dating from 1800, depicts a picturesque building that has variously been described as being near Hereford, Norwich, and, more recently, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, though on what grounds the latter location has been arrived at is unclear. The composition is repeated on the same scale in a similarly faded work (TG1704a) and it also exists in another variant form, with two cows and a couple replacing the children shown here (TG1084) and this was also the subject of at least one copy by an unknown artist (see TG1084 figure 1). All of the various versions have been described as showing cottages, whereas the figures and the animals suggest that we are looking at a farmhouse, though whether this was originally studied from nature cannot be determined. However, I suspect that even if the buildings themselves were based on a scene from nature, the landscape setting, which more resembles a country park, was improvised and is unlikely to have anything to do with a subject viewed on the artist’s only known visit to the Newcastle area in 1796.
One possible reason for the association of the view with Newcastle is that it came from the collection at Holcombe Court in Devon, which included another work showing the Tyneside town (TG1082) along with eight other watercolours by Girtin. Following the discovery of the collection in the 1930s by Paul Oppé (1878–1957), Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) concluded that they were acquired by the owner of the house during Girtin’s life, Peter Bluett (1767–1863), though equally they might have been bought by a member of the family of the Revd William Rayer (1786–1866), who bought the property in 1858 (Girtin Archive, 26). Whichever the case, it is unlikely that the first owner was a direct patron of Girtin in the traditional sense. The very disparate group – in terms of size, subject and function – was presumably collected after the artist’s death, rather than being commissions, and some, at least, were no doubt bought from the artist’s representative, Samuel William Reynolds (1773–1835), who acted on behalf of the artist in his final years in a role somewhere between agent and dealer. This work thus conforms to the smaller of the two standard sizes that the artist supplied to Reynolds for sale on the open market, and the existence of the copy, which may even have been produced by Reynolds himself (see TG1084 figure 1), supports this theory. The fact that the watercolour is prominently signed and dated also suggests this to be the case, as this was the first year of Girtin and Reynolds’ relationship, and it is one of more than thirty works inscribed ‘1800’. This is significant because until that year the artist had never dated more than one or two of his watercolours per year, and it appears that the change in Girtin’s practice was governed by the need to prove to the market that his agent was not hawking old, unsold stock.
The second version of the farm scene (see figure 1), which features two children at the door, is, if anything, even more grievously faded. The work was catalogued by Thomas Girtin (1874–1960) and David Loshak as an earlier version of Girtin’s composition, dating from 1798 (Girtin and Loshak, 1954, p.160). However, more recently, the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, has listed it online as an early nineteenth-century copy, encouraged presumably by the reappearance of the signed and dated watercolour at a sale in 1984 (Exhibitions: Christie’s, 10 July 1984, lot 204) and this is how it was catalogued in the first iteration of this catalogue. However, the opportunity to view the work has changed my opinion and the work will gain its own entry in the next update in March where it will appear as TG1704a.
(?) 1800
TG1704a
(?) 1800
A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
TG1084
(?) 1800
A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
TG1084
1799 - 1800
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
TG1082
(?) 1800
A Farmhouse, Said to Be near Newcastle-upon-Tyne
TG1084
(?) 1800
TG1704a